By Linda C. Ashar, J.D.  |  12/08/2025

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The relationship between law and policy shapes how societies pursue justice, economic progress, and social well-being. Laws are the binding rules created by governments to guide behavior and minimize disputes so that communities can function smoothly. Their strength lies in their enforcement through the justice system, agencies, and regulatory systems.

Policy, in contrast, reflect the broader goals and principles that guide decision making in communities or organizations. The essential distinction is that laws are legally enforceable; policies are aspirational frameworks that often inspire or shape those laws.

In a recent study published in Annals of Global Health, researchers Anil Yasan Ar and Assad Abbas observed that “Governments have to cope with issues that arise from the social and economic perspectives of their countries.” That tension between broad policy aims and enforceable law is where governance truly comes to life.

The relationship between law and policy exists in a continuous, synergistic feedback loop. Changing economic and social realities keep that cycle in constant motion.

Policy ideas inspire legislation and regulations; once they are enacted, they influence future policy directions as society evolves. For example, we see this dynamic across all areas of governance:

• Environmental protection
• Public health
• Finance
• Education
• Energy
• Labor
• International trade

Existing laws and new laws draw the lines of conduct. Policies define the reasons those lines exist. Understanding how the two paradigms interact helps community residents, leaders, and organizations navigate complex systems and engage responsibly in both corporate and public decision-making.

 

The Purpose Behind Policies

Policy begins as an expression of collective intent. Leaders, institutions, and governments identify goals, analyze data, and plan programs to guide behavior toward shared objectives.

In democratic systems, this process depends upon:

• Transparency
• Public consultation
• The evaluation of alternatives

A policy might be embodied in a strategic plan, an administrative directive, or a national initiative promoting public health, safety, or economic growth.

Examples are everywhere. A public health or healthcare policy might target childhood obesity through education, food labeling, and school nutrition standards.

Similarly, a climate policy might promote carbon neutrality through renewable energy incentives. Initially, such measures depend on public cooperation and persuasion rather than enforcement mandates, but they pave the way for future laws.

Another example is Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). Founded by a woman whose young daughter was killed by a drunk driver, this organization’s advocacy led to the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984.

This legislation requires all states to raise the drinking age to 21 as a condition of receiving federal highway funds, and it shows how policy translated moral outrage and social demand into federal law. It is a vivid demonstration of how policy gives rise to law.

 

Using the Law as an Instrument for Change

Through legislation and regulation, the law provides the mechanism to protect rights, allocate responsibilities, and resolve disputes. Take environmental protection, for example. Clean-air policies evolve into laws that impose emissions limits, require permits, and penalize violators.

 In this way, law converts intention into accountability and establishes restrictions that safeguard the public. But the process doesn’t end there.

 In turn, laws influence policy as they reveal practical challenges such as:

• Enforcement gaps
• Conflicts
• Shifting economic contexts

Case law emerging from judicial interpretation often clarifies or redefines those boundaries. Though policy typically takes form in law through legislative action – statutes and administrative regulations – policy can also become law through judicial fiat. Courts play an essential and central role in shaping the law’s meaning and boundaries, and they can look to changing public policy in their deliberations.

An example lies in the recent line of Supreme Court cases limiting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s discretion to define clean air standards and policy. It is a shift away from a judicial policy of deferring to scientific expertise presumed in the agency’s opinion to a policy of independent judicial examination of issues without such an assumption.

Law transforms policy goals into enforceable regulations and statutes. It creates a legal system through which governments can act, rights can be protected, and disputes can be resolved.

When policy evolves into law, it gains durability and legitimacy. Citizens can be compelled to comply, agencies can be funded to enforce compliance, and courts can interpret the scope of obligations.

 

Power, Politics, and Policy Creation

Ideally, law and policy exist to serve the public good. They are often shaped by politics and economics. Policymakers balance competing interests like public welfare, fiscal constraints, and corporate influence while being challenged to craft fair, feasible rules.

Political philosophy affects not only the scope but the enforcement of law. Government leadership prioritizing market freedom might favor light-touch regulation and voluntary compliance, while one focused on social welfare may push for mandatory standards and strong enforcement. The same policy goal – such as reducing toxic pollution or controlling drugs – can yield quite different laws depending on who holds power.

Even the best-written law will fail without political will and governance. Underfunded or selectively enforced laws highlight why governance and oversight are essential for true effectiveness.

When policy doesn't sustain the law and vice versa, the law eventually weakens or disappears. Ultimately, the lifespan and effectiveness of any law depend not just on its legal foundation, but on the living mechanisms of governance that choose to sustain it in effective policy.

 

Corporate Social Responsibility: Beyond Compliance

The rise of corporate social responsibility (CSR) shows that the policy-law cycle extends far beyond government. In business, corporate policy often begins where legal compliance ends.

Laws establish the foundation – prohibiting discrimination, regulating safety, protecting workers, and limiting environmental harm. But companies increasingly recognize that doing only what is required may not be enough to sustain trust, competitiveness, or long-term value.

Through CSR initiatives, firms voluntarily adopt practices that exceed legal mandates. The rise of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) frameworks demonstrates how voluntary corporate policy can evolve into global norms and even new laws.

A recent Indonesian study notes that the ESG trend marks a “paradigm shift in the business world.” Governments are adapting regulations to align with evolving CSR expectations.  

The researchers state that “Government regulations and policies in various countries are starting to adapt to these changes. The adoption of new laws and policies supporting ESG practices shows recognition of the importance of this issue in sustainable economic and social development. These regulations not only aim to protect the environment and society but also to create a fair and transparent market, which in turn can encourage innovation and sustainable economic growth.”

 

Lessons from Corporate Scandals

When leading corporations adopt stronger sustainability or transparency standards, they raise expectations across industries, often prompting lawmakers to follow suit. Business behavior, in this sense, doesn’t just respond to law; it shapes it.

History provides ample evidence of this pattern. Corporate scandals such as Enron® and WorldCom® exposed deep weaknesses in internal governance and ethics, leading directly to the landmark Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX).

SOX codified new standards for financial accountability and whistleblower protection. What began as a reaction to private-sector excess became a global model for corporate governance.

Similarly, the push to address forced labor (slavery) in supply chains began as a matter of conscience within multinational corporations and advocacy groups. Over time, public awareness and corporate commitments coalesced into legislation such as the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act and the UK Modern Slavery Act. These laws formalized private business’ voluntary efforts: mapping suppliers, disclosing risk, and reporting remediation steps.

 

Environmental Protection from Corporate Policies

Voluntary corporate programs have influenced environmental laws as well. Companies like Patagonia®, Unilever®, and IKEA® focused on the implementation of environmental sustainability policies long before regulators began to require them. Their success has influenced public attention and regulations incentivizing environmental measures and responsibility.

The interplay between voluntary action and legal enforcement serves to demonstrate the mutuality of the crucial roles of policy and law. Businesses test ethical frameworks that, if successful, evolve into policy norms and eventually legal standards. When voluntary systems fall short, government intervention can restore credibility and stability through regulation.

 

Ethics, Regulations, and Global Impact

Globally, the pattern continues to accelerate. The European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive aims “to foster sustainable and responsible corporate behaviour in companies’ operations and across their global value chains.”

Launched in 2024, the Directive requires companies to monitor human rights and environmental risks across their entire value chain, an obligation that a decade ago was only voluntary. Canada, Australia, and Japan are considering similar legislation, demonstrating how ethics-driven business policy and decision-making are now shaping international law. As public demand for transparency and accountability grows, corporate leaders find themselves not just responding to policy but actively defining it.

CSR shows how ethical policy can influence legal development and shape behavior. Whistleblower protections, anti-corruption statutes, and human rights due diligence laws have all emerged from private initiatives. When corporate practices work, they serve as models for legislation; when they fail, government steps in to regulate.

 

The Role of Evidence and Evaluation

Modern governance increasingly depends on evidence. Effective policies require data about social conditions, and sound laws need analysis of their potential impacts.

Policymakers must also explain how evidence supports the implementation of new measures. Unfortunately, even robust evidence doesn’t always lead to change because political realities and public opinion often mediate whether research becomes regulation.

Evaluation closes this loop. Once a law or policy is enacted, its real-world effects must be measured. Whether goals are being met can be revealed by:

• Compliance rates
• Public feedback
• Court challenges

The growing use of regulatory impact assessments underscores a critical truth: laws and policies must remain grounded in actual experience.

 

Global Trends and Adaptive Governance

Global challenges – climate change, human rights, and digital transformation – demand cooperation that crosses national borders. Today’s legal landscape is defined by international interdependence, where domestic laws and international policy constantly intersect.

Cross-border transactions and fluid, instant communications demand adaptive governance. This approach prizes flexibility, collaboration, and continual learning.

Researcher Shreya Dubey describes this symbiotic relationship well. She notes, “The correlation between voluntary CSR and legal obligations embodies a dynamic interplay between ethical commitments and regulatory adherence.”

Dubey adds, “While voluntary CSR initiatives empower companies to transcend legal requisites in tackling societal challenges, legal obligations set forth minimum thresholds of conduct that all corporations must uphold to avert legal liability and regulatory sanctions.

“Consequently, voluntary CSR and legal obligations are not mutually exclusive but rather complementary, each serving distinct yet interconnected purposes in advancing corporate responsibility and sustainability.”

In short, businesses are not waiting for governments to dictate ethical boundaries. Instead, their internal standards often drive the next generation of laws and legal frameworks.

 

Public Health and International Accountability

Public health offers another powerful example. The World Health Organization’s International Health Regulations (IHR) were meant to create a binding framework for surveilling and effectively responding to disease. Nevertheless, the COVID-19 pandemic exposed weaknesses in enforcement and coordination, with some nations accused of violating international reporting obligations.

In response, global policymakers began negotiating the WHO Pandemic Agreement, designed to strengthen international sharing of research, vaccine access, and compliance. This process – turning lessons from failure into new legal commitments – illustrates adaptive governance in action.

 

Environmental Policy and Legal Evolution

Globally, environmental policy and law illustrate a similar, circular evolution of policy and law. The Paris Agreement originated as a policy measure built on voluntary commitments rather than binding quotas.

Over time, however, its reporting and transparency frameworks have begun to take on quasi-legal force, influencing national legislation such as the European Climate Law. Each step in this evolution reflects an adaptive process of policy innovation leading to law, which then drives new policy development as evidence and experience accumulate.

 

Technology, AI, and Adaptive Legal Systems

Technology governance is another policy frontier of the 21st century. Artificial intelligence (AI), digital privacy, and data ethics pose challenges that outpace traditional legal processes and disrupt operational policies. These areas underscore the important role of policy in forming the foundations of legal accountability.

Vicente Garrido Rebolledo noted that the EU’s Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence, Human Rights, Democracy, and the Rule of Law of 2024 was a leading example of establishing needed policies and moving them toward legally binding requirements. As Rebolledo observed, it was a way to make sure that “AI systems respect human rights, democracy, and the rule of law.”

Policymakers are continuously experimenting with Agile regulatory models such as:

• The European Union’s AI Act
• The U.S. NIST AI Risk Management Framework
• The Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) AI Principles

These models blend hard law with soft-law policy guidance, allowing flexibility while maintaining public protection. Their success or failure will inform the next generation of global tech governance, from algorithmic accountability to cybersecurity policy.

 

Corporate Behavior and the Future of Global Law

As business, technology, and society intertwine, corporate behavior also adapts. ESG disclosure laws, anti-slavery acts, and due-diligence requirements show how private policy can lead to public law.

Researcher Shreya Dubey describes this symbiotic relationship well. She notes, “The correlation between voluntary CSR and legal obligations embodies a dynamic interplay between ethical commitments and regulatory adherence.

While voluntary CSR initiatives empower companies to transcend legal requisites in tackling societal challenges, legal obligations set forth minimum thresholds of conduct that all corporations must uphold to avert legal liability and regulatory sanctions.

“Consequently, voluntary CSR and legal obligations are not mutually exclusive but rather complementary, each serving distinct yet interconnected purposes in advancing corporate responsibility and sustainability.”

In short, businesses are not waiting for governments to dictate ethical boundaries. Instead, their internal standards often drive the next generation of public law.

 

Society Shapes Policy and Policy Shapes Justice

Policy defines purpose, law institutionalizes it, and governance enacts and refines it. It is how societies pursue justice, define rights, and manage change. As global challenges grow more complex, the interplay between law and policy will become ever more crucial.

When companies, communities, and citizens embrace ethical leadership that goes beyond compliance, they help shape the future of law itself. Everyone – educators, professionals, business leaders, and citizens – participates in this evolving dialogue. The question isn’t whether we influence law and policy, but how consciously and responsibly we choose to do so.

 

The Bachelor of Science in Legal Studies at APU

For adult learners interested in studying legal topics, American Public University (APU) provides an online Bachelor of Science in Legal Studies. Taught by instructors with a deep knowledge of the legal field, this degree program features courses in legal ethics, constitutional law, and family law. Other courses include an introduction to legal technology, civil practice and procedure, and legal research and writing.

Students can choose from one of eight concentrations to plan their courses that will meet their professional interests.

For more details on this B.S. in legal studies, visit APU’s security and global studies degree program page.

Note: Completion of this program does not award any professional paralegal or any other certification, but may be helpful in preparing to seek such certifications.
Enron is a registered trademark of the Enron Corporation.>
WorldCom is a registered trademark of Verizon Business Global, LLC.
Patagonia is a registered trademark of Patagonia, Inc.
Unilever is a registered trademark of Conopco, Inc.
IKEA is a registered trademark of Inter-IKEA Systems, B.V.

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